LV MUSIC: Poised for a breakout, The Band Perry rolls through Bethlehem

July 02, 2010|By Stephanie Sigafoos | Of The Morning Call

The members of The Band Perry can't remember a time when they haven't been playing music. Their ride to country stardom (and trust me, they're on their way) began back when they were growing up in Alabama, and it's carried them all the way through a record deal, two singles and the radio tour that brought them to Starters Riverport in Bethlehem on Thursday.

Kimberly, Reid and Neil showcased their tight harmonies and songwriting prowess in a five-song set as part of the WCTO Cat Country 96 "New Cats on the Block" series. After joking with the audience, "We're not married and we're not in a relationship, we're actually siblings," they segued right from sound check into the upbeat "Sugar, Sugar."

Later, with Neil on mandolin and accordian and Reid playing bass guitar, the trio covered their debut single "Hip to my Heart," along with their haunting current track "If I Die Young." They also showcased a song not available on their current EP called "Independence" and finished with the attitude-driven, utterly catchy "Quittin' You."

One thing instantly noticeable is that Kimberly's vocals are laced with confidence, and the trio moves easily from a Nashville twang into more ambitious territory. "If I Die Young" could comfortably find a home outside of country radio, its lyrics and melody undoubtedly designed to speak to a wider audience, while their other material meets a crossroads of today's flamboyant country and soulful southern rock.

After their performance The Band Perry sat down with me to answer a few questions about their background, the challenges of being new to the Nashville scene and, among other things, the use of social media to reach out to their ever-growing fan base.

Can you tell me a little bit about your background?

Kimberly: We always grew up performing as kids, not necessarily together in the early days. I can BandPerry_IMG_0166 remember when Neil was still in diapers and he was born to be an entertainer, plus Reid and I were always keeping peope entertained, making them sit down and listen to us. We officially started touring when I was 15, and when Reid and Neil were eight and ten. They had matching bowl cuts and were so cute, but they were too short to play on stage with me.

We grew up in Mobile, Alabama and had a band called "The Mobile Music Machine" -- again 8 and 10 years old and they put together their own band. I was 15 and played in my first band with a bunch of high school guys, but I was their musical director and kind of helped them put their songs together, and their band would open for me and my guys. Every weekend we would just travel together as a family, and my parents would take us all around in a motor home ... just load all the kids up. We often had two bands rehearsing in our house at the same time and we always worked together as a family. We started the band officially about five years ago in the Carolinas when they got rid of the bowl cuts and got tall enough to play on stage with me. I needed some guys to jam with, and we started out as The Band Perry on a Walmart and Coca-Cola promotional tour rolling through the Carolinas.

As siblings touring together, do you ever get on each other's nerves?

(The band answers almost in unison): No, never! We call them discussions, not disagreements!

What's the learning curve been like as new artists, especially being out on the road?

Kimberly: The biggest thing for us to get used to is the pace, because it's a very non-normal pace. We're sleeping on a bus that's moving every night, and during the day you shower at mid-day so that you're clean for the show...

Bandperry_IMG_0168 Neil: If you get a shower! Also before we had the bus on the radio tour, I had no idea we'd be flying as much as we do. We'd fly sometimes three times a day, so that was a big adjustment.

Kimberly: It's amazing how necessity forces you to figure out how to get through a situation, so if we get four hours of sleep .. actually we're lucky to have five. Five makes us happy, but it's so relative because we're not used to the full eight hours.

Reid: That's also not having lots of time at home. We've maybe been home for two, maybe three weeks since October.

Kimberly: Home is where we like to be creative and we live in East Tennessee. It's like a dot on the map in the mountains, so it's hard to find a time to be creative ...

Reid: The pace has really been different from what we've been used to...

Kimberly: Because we like to do songwriting there and it's been sort of a shock to the system because we're figuring out how to still absorb the world around us and be creative.